Carpet-cleaner.



PATENTED APR. 7, 1903.

G. A. COWGILL, CARPET CLEANER.`

VAPPLIGATION PILED JULY 13, 1991.

\ my invention.

' main frame comprising the base-timbers A,-

Ohio, have invented a new and useful Carvide improved means for securingthe carpet;

'in the claims.

UNITED I STATES GEORGE A. COWGLL,

PATENT OFFICE or EUPH MIA; 01-110( CARPET-CLEANER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patents No. 724,441, olated April7, 1903.

Application filed July 13, 1901 To all whom it may cancer-n:

Be it known that I, GEORGE A. COWGILL, a citizen of the United States,residi'ng at Euphemia, in the county of Preble and State of pet-Cleaner,of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates generally to carpetcleaners, and moreparticularly to an improved construction of cleaner which is animprovement upon the Patent N'o. 6763460, granted to me June 18, 1901. i

The object of the present invention is to provide a carpet-cleaner inwhich the carpet can be more quickly and easily cleaned than heretofore;and another object of the invention is to provide a carpet-cleaner inwhich wide or narrow strips of carpet can be cleaned with equalfacility; and a still further object is to provide a carpet-cleaner inwhich the air-blast can be regulated according to the width ofthe'carpet strip to be cleaned; and a still further object is to providea carpetcleaner in which the dust forced from the carpet can be quicklyand easily carried off and gotten rid of.

Another object of the invention is to prowhile it is being cleaned; andwith the various objects in View the invention consists in the peculiarConstruction of the several parts and also in the novel manner ofcombining or arranging said parts, all of which will be fully describedhereinafter and pointed out In the drawings forming part of thisspecification, Figure l is a perspective view of a carpet-cleanerconstructed in accordance with: Fig. 2 is a top plan view of myinvention. Fig. 3 is a sectional View on the line 3 3 of Fig. 2, aportion of the blower and beater being shown in elevation. Fig. 4 is adetail View showing a portion of the' beater. Fig. 5 is a detail viewshowing one of 'the carpet-fastening hooks in a positionready to havethe carpet forced thereon.

In carrying out my invention I employ a the uprights B and C, and thehorizontal beams or timbers D. A roller E is journaled in the upper endsof the uprights B and carries a pulley E' at each end, and passing overv belts in their proper parallel position.

Serial No. 68,209. (No model.)

said pulleys are the belts E which are driven by means of pulleys Emounted upon'the shaft E journaled at the ends of the beams D, saidshaft E receiving its power from any suitable source. i -Rollers F arejournaled between the upper and lower ends of the uprights O and alsobetween the lower ends of the uprights B, and passing around theserollers E'and F are a series of endless belts G, connected by means of aseries of transverse strips G' in order to hold the endless Each belt Grhas -a series of pointed hooks H pivoted thereto, said hooks beingSecured to the belts by means of plates H' and H said plates havingdepressed portions H which receive the journal of the hook, and also aspring portion H which bears against the said journal of the hook andyieldingly holds by frictional contact the said shank or point in ahorizontal position for the' purpose of attachin g the'carpet to thesaid hooks. After the carpet has been placed in position the hooks canbe :turned down, with their points substantially parallel therewith, andthe contact of the springs with the shanks of the hooks will cause themto-remain in'that position until they are forcibly'turned into ahorizontal position for removing the carpet.

In Fig. 5 I have illustrated on'e'of these hooks held in position tohave the carpet forced upon the point or slank thereof, and after thepoint has been forced through the carpet it is then turned down to theposition indicated in Fig. 1, and it will be impossible for the carpetto work loose from the hooks while it is being cleaned. By means of theroller E, which is rotated by means of the belts E it will be understoodthat the endless belts will be moved around the rollers E and F,

IOO

chamber K, which is located between the horizontal beams D and containsa rotary fan K', which is operated by means of a series of belts fromthe shaft D The mouth K of the fan-chamber is arranged in closeproximity to the flight, passing between the rollers F at the upper andlower ends of the uprights C. In order to hold the belts and carpet inproper positions opposite the mouth of the fan-chamber, I provideguide-rollers L and M, jonrnaled between the uprights C and above andbelow the mouth of the fan-chamber, the rollers L being arrauged uponthe interior of the belt, while the roller M is arranged upon theexterior, and if necessary this roller M will be cut or grooved in orderto prevent the points of the hooks coming in contact With the saidrollers.

The beater is substantially the same as the beater shown and describedin my prior patent already referred to and consists of the cross-bars N,one of which carries the fingers N'. These cross-bars N are connected tothe arms O, which are pivoted to the brackets O' and operated by meansof the pitman P, connected to the pulley P', receiving its power fromthe shaft E also. It will thus be' seen that as the carpet is carriedaround by means of the endless belt it is beaten by means of the beaterand subjected to an air-blast from the fan. The dust is forced into adust box or chamber Q, which is closed on all sides, except the sidedirectly opposite the mouth of the fan-chamber. The top of the dust boxor chamber is made somewhat tapering, and

a dust chute or spout Q' leads from the center of the said top.Air-inlet tubes Q extend down from the top of the dust box or chanber toa point adjacent to the bottom of the same for the purpose of creatingdraft and generating Currents, by means of which the dust is forced outthrough the spout or chute Q'.

By employing a series of endless belts G, I am enabled to clean wide ornarrow strips of carpet, and in the device illustrated in Fig. 1 I amenabled to clean two strips of narrow carpet at the same time. In case,however, only one narrow strip is to be operated on I provide for theutilization of the entire blast of air by` providing valves R within thefanchamber, said valves being pivoted at their outer ends, as shown atR', their inner ends being connected to links R?, said links beingconnected to a lever R by means of which the valves are opened orclosed, as required, the top of the fan-chamber being slotted, as shownat R to permit such adjustment. When a wide strip of carpet is to becleaned,

the valves are thrown open to their full ex-` tent; but when a narrowstrip is to be cleaned the valves are closed, thereby centering theentire blast of air at the point opposite the strip of carpet. 4 r

S indicates a roller detachably mounted upon the exterior of theuprights B, which roller serves to guide the carpet While beingconnected to the belts, and after the carpet has been cleaned it can berolled upon this roller and removed from the cleaner. It will also beunderstood that the motion of the belts can he stopped at any timewithout stopping the motion of the beater and blower, a suitable clutchmechanism being employed to effect this result.

It will thus be seen that I provide an improved construction ofcarpet-cleaner which will effectively accomplish all of the objectsheretofore mentioned.

Having thus fully described my invention, what Iclaim as new, and desireto secure by Letters Patent, is

1. Ina carpet-cleaner, au endless carpetcarrier comprising a series ofparallel belts traveling on a plnrality of rollers, said belts beingconnected by means of a series of transverse strips, a plurality ofpointed hooks pivoted to each belt, and a spring-plate hearing on thepivoted portion of each hook and adapted to yieldingly resist movementof the hook.

2. In a carpet-sweeper, a series of endless Vertical movablecarpet-carriers arranged side by side, each provided with means forsecuring a piece of carpet thereto independently of the others, ablower-fan casing in front of the carriers, the mouth of which extendspast 5 all of the carriers, means for direeting the blastfrom the casingto ei therside of a central point and means for simultaneously operatingthe fan and the canriers.

3. In acarpet-cleaner,the combination with a frame, a plurality ofrollers mounted on said frame, endless belts traveling around saidrollers, hooks attached to said belts and adapted to engage a carpet, adust-box open at one end infthe lower part of the frame, a fanblowercasing adjacent to and open opposite the opening in the dust-box andmeans for directing the air from said blower to either side of a centralpoint.

4. In a carpet-cleaner, a dust box or chamber open at one side andhaving a discharge spont or chute extending from the top of said box orchamber, and the air-inlet tube extending from the top to a pointadjacent to the bottom of the box or chamber, substantially IIO

